On my latest sailing tour with my AI (model 07) around Formentera (Spain) 4 weeks ago I detected a huge amount of water inside the hull. Pumping the water out with a bilge pump helped only for a while, in the end the hull was nearly totally fulled with water. I aborted my trip and reached the beach where I inspected the boat and detected, that a screw holding the mast cup and the V-frame togeteher was broken and that there were some cracks in the hull below the mast cup. After patching the area around the cracks with duck tape at least it was possible to have some trips without using the sail, but I'm a little bit worried how to proceed.

Back in germany I asked the local dealer who recommended a repair kit (T-80) http://www.orbi-tech.com/ that promises a solution by welding PE material. I bought the kit, made some exercises (my AI actually lies 2000 km away in a garage) and it seems that it really might be a way to patch the cracks. Has anybody else experiences repairing damages like that? Any ideas what I have to do to connect mast cup and V-frame?

Attached some pictures that show the cracks, the current patchwork and the bilge pump that I just can recommend (helps also to get sand out of the mast cup before inserting the mast).

After repairing the cracks in the hull with the mentioned repair kit and sailing twice in moderate conditions I can say, that so far it seems a suitable procedure. Unfortunately I forgot to take some pictures - it does not look very pretty, but at least it seems to be a workaround after spending 250 Euros for the welding iron and accessories.

I also found out that the screw I found in the hull was not broken, but I have no idea what has been the reason that it got loose.

Anyway - if anybody else has similar problems or a better solution to fix damages like that, please post your comments ...

Today I heared from the local dealer (Catawest/Germany) that Hobie (Europe?) will spend a new hull although the 2 years warranty are over - sounds like great customer service and I have to say thanks in advance!

Nevertheless it remains the vague feeling that the mechanism with the screw that holds the mast base cup and V-frame in the hull together might be too weak in slightly rough conditions (breaking waves of app. 1 meter).

Nevertheless it remains the vague feeling that the mechanism with the screw that holds the mast base cup and V-frame in the hull together might be too weak in slightly rough conditions (breaking waves 1 meter).

This is not something we have been seeing as a problem. Certainly 1 meter breaking waves hitting the mast or boat at odd angles could put unusual forces on the rig. Lots of these sailing out in all kinds of conditions (much rougher) without seeing this failure though. I would not be overly concerned. Possibly related to adjustment of the "V" brace. If loose, miss-adjusted or actually pulling up on the hull bottom, I could see a potential problem.

I aborted my trip and reached the beach where I inspected the boat and detected, that a screw holding the mast cup and the V-frame togeteher was broken and that there were some cracks in the hull below the mast cup. the bilge pump

Feedback welcome

Axel

It would be interesting to know if your mast base receiver was located soley on the domed cup....If this was the case and the V brace a bit loose I can imagine the leverage on the hull would be quite substantial

what I really was referring to (trying to refer to!) when I mentioned the domed cup in my previous post was the first photo below. MAYBE if your mast base receiver is resting solely on the dome and not also bearing on the inside of the hull could it be stressing the underside of the boat???? Sometime ago Hobie replaced my hull because of cracked columns under the drive cams I also had to remove the mast receiver from the old hull and found it was app 3-4mm above the inside of the hull and supported fully on the dome which was also cracked. I think in time this crack could have spread to the underside of the hull. I made very sure with the new boat that that the base of the receiver was tight against the inside of the hull by shimming it with a rubber pad

Up till now I have not disassembled anything - the screws are so tight and I just have metric tools so that it was not possible for me. I think the loose screw (also shown in the pictures of Philip1el - but in place) I found later sliding in the hull caused the damage. Without holding the parts together, the forces transferred by the mast are so strong that the hull cracks where the mast base is attached.Before that I never had the feeling that something was wrong. I often verified that the nut on the screw and the other ones for adjusting the V frame were tight but never thought that it would be possible that the screw holding the mast base cup, the V frame and the hull together could loose - I assumed that it was encapsulated in the hull (as the ones holding the "ball heads" to lock the akas - sorry for that bumpy description, I do not know better how these things are named correctly in english).

I just made my thoughts what might happen when I was hit by a wave unfortunately and felt the vibrations on the mast (and the akas), and after that damage my doubts have not been decreased ...